Bloch MB.480

Description

Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. The Bloch MB.480 was a French twin-engined torpedo-bomber/reconnaissance floatplane designed just before the start of the Second World War by Soci t des Avions Marcel Bloch. Only two were built, the French Navy deciding to use landplanes instead. In May 1937, the French Air Ministry placed an order with Soci t des Avions Marcel Bloch for two prototype floatplanes intended to fulfill a French Navy requirement for a twin-engined torpedo-bomber/reconnaissance floatplane. Bloch's design, the Bloch MB.480 was a low-winged monoplane that closely resembled the earlier Bloch MB.131 reconnaissance/bomber landplane. It was powered by two 1,060 hp (791 kW) Gnome-Rh ne 14N radial engines and carried a crew of five. Defensive armament was a 7.5 mm Darne machine gun in the nose and a ventral bath, while a 20 mm cannon was fitted in a powered dorsal mounting. A heavy load of bombs, torpedoes or auxiliary fuel tanks could be carried in an internal bomb bay.show more